The Earth House

Saying what this book is "about" (building a house, losing a partner, practicing Zen) really misses the point. One of us humans has looked into the Great Matter (life-death) and said something, as clearly as she can, from the heart. I can't say what is the "best" book in the world, as another reviewer has. I would say that this is a book that is, in a sense, perfect. Of course it can be embarrassing when someone opens like a clam and shows you their guts. The Library Journal reviewer had to avert her eyes. I had the same thought as the reviewer who wonders: Why have I never heard of this? I found it only 13 years afer publication, and then only because I enjoyed the City of Ember and its sequel, and I was looking for something else by the author. This seems quite odd. My hypothesis is that this book somehow has fallen between the cracks. Should we catalog and market it a grief memoir, like C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed? Or is it more like Joko Beck's American Zen talks? Or is it work that belongs in the lesbian-feminist section of the store, simply because it involes a same-sex relationship? Is it like Gary Snyder (who figures indirectly as a minor character)? Is it like Thich Nhat Hanh? Shut up. I write this as it snows here in April, tears streaming down my face.

Why didn't I hear about this book until recently? Duprau is an eloquent writer and this is a deep and touching story. Filled with humor and insight, this book is about two women, their Zen practice, their love for each other and the tenuousness of life. More nuanced than Natalie Goldberg, Duprau's sense of irony carries the weight of her story.

This book was enlightening and bittersweet. The story of the narrator trying to build a home with her partner Sylvia is deceptively complicated. The structure is elegant, the writing beautiful. It ends up being a meditation on life, death, grief, and compassion. Quietly, the story built in power. I loved this book and have read it twice since I first discovered it. It's a gem of a story, and I highly recommend it.

Earth House by Jeanne DuPrau is a remarkably moving account of relationships: to the earth, to house-building, to partners....all under the sharp clarity of Zen.

The Earth House is Jeanne Duprau's account of her mid-life search for meaning, her attempt to build a house in the Sierra foothills, and the loss of her lover. It is simple, moving and uplifting, full of truth. The Earth House is a wonderful book. I have sent and recommended The Earth House to numerous friends and relatives, all of whom loved it. I also had the opportunity to record a chapter of it for a friend who was blinded by AIDS. Like fine poetry, it was even better when spoken aloud; I was overwhelmed by the luminance and flow of its prose. Don't miss this book.